Day47 - the Charlottetown Accord...

Today was my day off in Charlottetown.  Originally I had planned to take more time here, but the ferry to Argentia only runs every 3 days (and at 01:00/01:30 in the AM?!) - so I had to cut short my planned stay in PEI.  As much as I wanted to take the other ferry and the long road 'round the Rock, the pressures of my 8 week schedule and the consequences of having enjoyed my slacker days earlier in the trip forced a rethink.  I could have made it if I scheduled 1 day in Charlottetown, 1 day in St John's, and 4 or 5 back-to-back 200k days - racing 'round the Rock, as it were.  That's not how I wanted to end my tour however, so I sucked it up and adjusted my schedule.

I woke up very early, but I don't get up early on rest days - so I flopped back into bed and got up at a much more reasonable hour (~08:00).  A continental breakfast is included at the hostel, so I had a bagel and some coffee and then thought about my day.  It was overcast and drizzling very lighly.  The staff and other guests there weren't too thrilled with the weather, but I'm a Vancouver boy - that ain't rain, it's just atmosphere!  Out I went to explore the town. 

You know you're getting old (or perhaps just a nerd) when one of the highlights of my trip was a visit to Province House - the site of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference: a meeting for the purposes of discussing Maritime Union that was crashed by John A Macdonald, George-Etienne Cartier, and others that led to the passing of the British North America act in 1867 and my dear country's Confederation. 

I had a pretty darn good chowder and terrible service at a local bar, saw the Charlottetown art gallery, went on the Gahan House brewery tour, and had the finest meal I'd had in Atlantic Canada at the Pilot House.  After dinner I went for a walk down by the pier and saw some local artists performing, and then headed back to the hostel where I played darts and went through the vinyl collection with some of the staff and another guest.

All in all, a solid day - but I'll definitely have to come back...


Province House

Can't you just smell the history?

Fresh mussels

and the requisite "schow-d'air"

Just because it's not a ride day doesn't mean that one can ignore one's nutrition - proper fuelling is essential!

The best meal I've had to date in Atlantic Canada...